5 Assets New Jersey Devils Should Target On Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been eliminated again. Could the New Jersey Devils try to take advantage of a situation where the Leafs look to reshuffle the deck after another early exit?
Another year, and another disappointing end for the Toronto Maple Leafs. For the sixth year in a row, the Leafs have been knocked out of the first round of the playoffs. The past five years saw the Leafs’ season end in a do-or-die game. It’s a massive failure for the most popular NHL franchise. This could become an opportunity for the New Jersey Devils.
Every year, we talk about how the Devils and Maple Leafs could be good partners in a trade. Honestly, the Devils might have the type of players the Leafs might be looking for. The Leafs will want complimentary young players who can fit around an incredible top six. Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian, Miles Wood, and Pavel Zacha might all be players the Leafs want. Then, there are those constant Damon Severson rumors about Toronto’s desire to take him.
This isn’t just about trades. Anything can happen in Toronto, and everything is on the table. The Devils should look at that roster and see who might be available. This is a city of overreaction. The Maple Leafs have been a franchise of overreaction, however, that hasn’t been how it worked for this current era. Kyle Dubas has been extremely patient with a core of greatness. However, he has two more seasons of Auston Matthews before becoming an unrestricted free agent. Mitch Marner and John Tavares only have three more seasons left after this one.
This was supposed to be an era where the Leafs won a bevy of Stanley Cups, but they have just two years left before the likely Hart Trophy winner can go to Arizona or wherever he wants. With that kind of urgency, we could see a major move from Toronto this offseason. The Devils might have some of the right pieces to make it happen.
William Nylander
Alright, let’s just get this one out of the way. We’ve mentioned William Nylander every single year. We talked about it way back in 2018 when the Maple Leafs were trying to figure out his contract. It was discussed in 2019 when the Maple Leafs were in a similar position looking to shake things up. We had a conversation in 2020 when the Maple Leafs had another early exit.
Obviously, there’s a reason for it. The Devils would love to have that contract, and it would bring the Maple Leafs a haul whoever they trade with. The general consensus in previous years is the Maple Leafs should stick with the same formula. It had to eventually work, right? Well, this season they just happened to face the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
It just feels like it’s time to make that huge move we’ve all been projecting for years. The Leafs can’t try this again exactly as they’ve been doing this, can they?
Nylander probably isn’t their biggest priority in terms of moving. He still has two years left on his contract. He makes just under $7 million per season, which is about $4 million less than Tavares, Matthews, and Marner. Even with the loss of contracts, the Leafs only have around $2.5 million in cap space and they need to add quite a bit. They will make certain moves to deal with that, but adding a quick $7 million while also getting a superstar haul in return is not a bad situation for Toronto. However, to even get traction on this deal, the Devils would have to seriously wow the Leafs with a trade proposal.
Jack Campbell
The Devils obviously desperately need a goalie next season. It doesn’t seem like the team is too confident in Jonathan Bernier starting the season after a midseason hip surgery. Mackenzie Blackwood did not exactly breed confidence in his game at the end of the season (although, that’s a lot to ask in two games). The Devils need a goalie. It’s never been more clear.
Jack Campbell is an unrestricted free agent. He was really good at times this season, but he had enough stretches during the year that he won’t command an insane contract. The only goalie on the market better is Darcy Kuemper, but Campbell will be in a position where he is looking to make money. The Devils have the right amount of money available to make that happen.
The general consensus is the Maple Leafs will do everything they can to keep Campbell. However, as long as Petr Mrazek is on the roster, the Leafs are stuck in a bad situation. While they try to figure that all out (but it’s almost a guarantee they buy out the contract exactly 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final).
The Devils would be in good shape with Campbell and Blackwood in net. They would need an injury insurance policy as they had with Scott Wedgewood last season (some good that did, but still).
Joey Anderson
The New Jersey Devils never really wanted to lose Joey Anderson, but they wanted to make a big move two offseasons ago, and they took on the three years left for Andreas Johnsson. Obviously, Johnsson hasn’t been what the Devils hoped for in the long run. He had his moments, but he had 11 points in 50 games his first season and then 35 this past season. He did get a little bit better, but this is not the trade they thought it would be.
Anderson has played six games in the NHL since being traded. That’s likely not what he was hoping for, either. This trade seems to be a loss all around. Maybe it’s time to reverse the trade. While the Maple Leafs won’t want Johnsson back on the roster, they might be willing to give the Devils Anderson back.
The way he played three seasons ago, Anderson would be a great asset to the Devils today. The Devils have been trying to build the bottom six now that the top six is close to solidified. Anderson had 42 points in 56 games in the AHL this past season.
Anderson would be a welcomed addition to the Devils’ lineup. It’s a player that was universally loved, and while most said they understood the trade, nobody was happy he was leaving. He’s a winner in college who brought that mentality to the Devils. He needs to make his way back to the team that drafted him.
Timothy Liljegren
The New Jersey Devils could really use a right-handed defensemen who is young and can be a long-term solution on that side. The Devils signed Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year deal, so the top spot should be solidified. Damon Severson is here, and he should be in good shape to sign an extension if he wants one (which is rumored to be true). However, the Devils are losing their third-pairing defenseman in P.K. Subban.
The Maple Leafs just don’t seem committed to Timothy Liljegren as they should be. All of his advanced stats show he’s really good. He got into 61 games in the regular season, but they only played him in two of the seven playoff games. He’s young, so he still has plenty of time to prove himself. However, it’s not like they trust him completely.
The Leafs have to figure out a new contract for Liljegren. They won’t want to pay him a premium for what he could be. Do you know who would be willing to do that? The Devils. They did it with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Miles Wood, Yegor Sharangovich, Damon Severson, and Janne Kuokkanen. If the Leafs aren’t willing to pay for him, the Devils will be.
This would be a deal if the Devils felt the need to sell to the Leafs. Say the Devils did decide they wanted to trade Severson to the Leafs. Liljegren would be a must coming the other way. They’d need a lot more, but the conversation starts with Liljegren.
Sheldon Keefe
Check the headline. We said assets. Sheldon Keefe is absolutely an asset the Devils need to acquire if the Maple Leafs decide they could do better with a different head coach. It does seem like to take the next step, the Leafs need something different. There’s nothing more different than bringing a different voice into the room. Obviously, there are some interesting names on the coaching market right now. Meanwhile, the Devils are still holding on to Lindy Ruff as head coach, but that might be because the Devils are waiting to see what’s available.
The Devils need to jump all over great coaches who become available. That includes Barry Trotz, who is available now. He might not be the best fit, however. He likes to focus on defense and keeping teams off the board. While he would make the Devils a winner, there are other star coaches who would fit better. Keefe would be the best possible fit for the Devils.
We won’t know for a little while what the Leafs are going to do. They still need to conduct exit interviews and figure out what happened. Again, it’s not like last season when the team lost to the Montreal Canadiens, a team they were much better than. It’s definitely not the season before when they were shocked by the Columbus Blue Jackets in a five-game series just to get into the top 16. This season, they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They can match talent with the Maple Leafs, only they have the playoff prowess that comes with back-to-back championships.
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The Devils can take advantage of a team in transition. The Leafs need to figure out how to win the 2023 and 2024 championships before they have to make a very hard Auston Matthews decision.